loophole Hear it!

loophole Definition

loop·hole (lo̵̅o̅p′hōl′)

noun

  1. a hole or narrow slit in the wall of a fort, etc., for looking or shooting through
  2. a means of escape; esp., a means of evading or escaping an obligation, enforcement of a law or contract, etc.

Etymology: loop + hole

loophole Synonyms

loophole

n.

  1. An evasion

    avoidance, means of escape, escape clause, deception; see lie 1, trick 1.

  2. An opening

    slot, knothole, aperture; see hole 1.

loophole Finance Definition
A technicality that allows a law or tax rule to be bypassed without violating the law. The term is commonly used to refer to ways of avoiding paying taxes. When a tax loophole is discovered, the U.S. Treasury attempts to close the loophole and prosecute any current and future offenders.
loophole Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • exploit: Simon Peter moves house to exploit a tax avoidance loophole?
  • gape: But some environmental groups argue that the new policies leave some gaping loopholes.
  • close: A new law which closes the loophole is urgently required.
  • plug: The Microsoft web pages suggest several ways of plugging this loophole.
  • expose: The Association of Colleges said the visa loophole exposed by the BBC should have been closed at least a year ago.
  • discover: His accountant then discovered the loophole of which I speak.

Preposition: in

  • law: There was a loophole in the law which left many getting off too lightly for killing people with their cars.
  • legislation: Responsible exercise of access rights in such areas should be defined through the Access Code rather than leaving a major loophole in the legislation.
  • regulation: Usdaw, which is the biggest union in the retail sector, has lobbied for legislation to close a loophole in trading regulations.
  • regime: Part of the problem here is a loophole in the non-proliferation regime that Iran is playing to the hilt.

Adjective modifier

  • legal: The current legal loophole allows phone masts of any height to be built on land owned by Network Rail without planning permission.
  • apparent: This might seem a minor point but it is an apparent loophole which appears ripe for exploitation.
  • dangerous: SECRETsweeper brings encrypted mail inside your content security policy, closing a dangerous loophole.
  • obvious: Right from the start, I could see there was no obvious loophole.
  • potential: Apart from abattoir workers, this is the main potential loophole.
  • massive: Thu Oct 12th, 2006 11:02 pm MOT Regulations Massive loophole.

Noun used with modifier

  • VAT: The intention here is to close off a VAT loophole.
  • tax: In fact, the move opened a tax loophole for some business owners.
  • security: Thieves ' cash in at Tesco tills ' Tesco self-service tills suffer from an apparent " security loophole " , consumer group Which?
  • detection: The detection loophole in the refutation of the family of Local Realistic Theories will thereby be closed.